Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1887-07-14
An Early Christian Cemetery.


There was recently printed in the
London Times an account of the dis
covery Of an early Christian cemetery
near Alexandria. 1t is underlying the
sand hills and rubbish heaps when lie
TO right and left of the Ramich line,
about half way between Alexandria
and Mustapha Pasha station. Some
whore hereabouts stood the city and
camp Of Nicopolis, SO called in mem
DRY of the victory which Augustus
here achieved over Antony aud his
adhercnts; and not far from the same
spot stands, or till lately stood, the lit
tie cupola-topped building in which
Sir Ralph Abercromby breathed his
last. The mounds are full of frag-
Iuents of sculpture, broken bones, pot
terry, and the like, and the Arabs are
constantly digging them in search Of
limestone, which they burn in extern
porized kllns all over the ground In
the course of these diggngs the above
mentioned cemetery was discovered
early in the past month.
Following the course of the Ramieh
line, at little distance beyond the
Chat Bey station, one comes to q ris-
ing ground on the summit of which is
Roman wall running parallel with
tae railway toward the east, and turn
ing northward at right angles toward
the seashorc. A breach in this wall
gives access to place in which the
natives have eXcavated two or three
pits, distant about one hundred yards
from each other, and about fifty
yards or so from the shore. In the
furihest of these well was discovered,
and close against the well n doorway
cut in the solid rock which here I'M
derlies the mounds. Entering by this
doorway, one stands in kind of irreg-
ular subterraneOus crypt, surrounded
by rockcut loculi. These loCuli meas
ure nine feet in length by from four to
six feet in width, and are ranged one
above another, in two and sometimes
three tiers, fifteen to the right and
twenty-three to the left of the central
passage.
In each recess, strange TO say, were
found ten skeletons, all apparently
skeletons of men, the bones being very
large One of the skulls, taken up at
random, was found to measure twenty
four inches in circumference. In all
the teeth are sound and white, and
firmly fixed in their sockets. In an
other pit, little further To the east
ward, a long gallery, with a similar
series of loculi on one side only, has
also been found. AT the end of this
gallery was u large doorway filled up
with stone slabs set in cement Count
Il 'Ilulst, from whom we have these par
ticulars, caused this doorway to be
broken through, and found a trans
verse gallery, with more loculi of the
same kind, beyond. Tcrra-cotta lamps
have been found with Il few of the
skeletons, some impressed with an
eight-pointcd cross some with priest
" figure in the attitude of benedlction,
and some with L. IL. $. Over one
niche is painted palm-branch orna-
ment. and other half-oblterated Chris
tiau ornaments are here and there
painted on the ceilings Of the galleries.
About hundred yards TO the west
ward of the first of these pits another
excavation has disclosed yet more of
these interments, in loculi of two and
three tiers deep. Hence it seems prob
able that the whole area iuclosed by
the Roman wall is in fact one vast
cemetery. Some shattered terra-cotta
collins. without inscriptions and with
out any traces Of human remains, hay c
been found irregularly buried in parts
of the >uperimposed rubbish mounds.
These are evidently of later date.
The Arab lime-burners are actively
continuing these excavations, and it is
to be hoped that some inscription
throwing light upon the circumstances
which caused the death aud burial of
SO large body of tall men in the
prime of life may before long be dis
| covered.